Sept. 11, 2011
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By Eric DeSalvo
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - After reeling off 22-straight sets, the UCF volleyball team dropped its first frame and match in over two weeks against USF (25-11, 24-26, 25-27, 21-25) Sunday night at The Venue at UCF. The Knights (8-2) finished second in the Residence Inn/UCF Invitational behind the Bulls (4-5), and concluded the weekend with a 3-1 record.
Since dropping their second contest of the season against Michigan State, the Knights went on a seven-match win streak that saw them top then-No. 3 USC, Pittsburgh and three in-state opponents in UNF, FAU and FGCU.
"You have to give South Florida credit because we stuck it to them pretty good in the first set but they never quit," head coach Todd Dagenais said after the match. "In the last several sets I thought we out played them at times, but the reality is there were real critical points that we just didn't execute. That was probably the most disappointing part of it. I thought for awhile we played well enough to beat them, but at the very end we just didn't play well enough to beat those guys."
Appearning on the all-tournament team for the Knights was senior Rachel Vukson (Oakville, Ontario) and sophomore Angelica Crump (Atlanta, Ga.) who were named to their third all-tournament teams of the season.
Despite the loss, the Knights filled up the stat sheet, out killing their opponents, 56-48. Crump led the team with a season-high 19 kills, and was joined in the double-digit club by junior Evija Vilde (Riga, Latvia) and freshman Kayla Keller (San Antonio, Texas) who totaled 11 and 14, respectively.
The Knights got off to an explosive start, hitting .345 and registering six of their 10 service aces in the first frame. Vukson passed out 10 assists in the set, and finished the night with 48 and 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the season.
The second and third frames saw the tides change for the Black and Gold as they were unable to covert crucial points at the end of each set. USF closed out the Knights in the fourth frame, and ended the match with 24 block assists.
On the defensive end for UCF, junior Meredith Murphy continued her strong play from the libero position, totaling 14 digs on the night. She now owns 1,123 career digs, surpassing Jenny Frank for sole possession of sixth place on the all-time list. Defensive specialist Dani Harrison (Tallahassee, Fla.) also chipped in with 13 digs of her own.
UCF will continue its homestand next weekend when it hosts Conference USA foe UTEP, Florida International and Jacksonville beginning Friday.
Season tickets for the 2011 season are available now for only $30, which includes 18 regular-season matches at The Venue at UCF and admission to three home tournaments. Also available for purchase this season is the UCF Gold Pass. For $75, the Gold Pass grants the avid Knights fan admission to all home volleyball, men's soccer, women's soccer, softball and track & field events.